Ramblings of a waterlogged Seattle area gardener and wannabe urban farmer

Beyond the Hedge

When I bought my house over five years ago one of the things that convinced me that I needed to buy it was the front hedge.

Since I’ve always loved hedges and been fascinated by secret gardens – I only saw potential in the crooked/weed infested hedge.

As you can see in the before picture (right), the hedge was a lot shorter when I moved in. Plus, the ‘garden’ was in shambles and almost non-existent. I had a lot of work ahead and plenty of ideas.

Right away I let the hedge grow taller by only trimming the sides. I did occasionally trim the top to keep the new growth looking neat and clean. My goal was to get the hedge high and full enough so people couldn’t see into the yard when they walked or drove by the house. Surprisingly, it only took a couple years to accomplish this.

Besides adding privacy, another benefit of growing the hedge to it’s current height is that it hides the front yard across the street. Don’t get me wrong – they’re VERY nice people. They just like to collect garbage on their front porch and under the awning in their front yard. Not the view I was looking for.

For even more privacy and to add a little charm, a couple years ago we turned an old door into our front gate. My neighbor (the antique dealer) just happened to have an old door I could have. All I had to do was create the frame using a couple 4×4’s, set them in cement and attach the door. To finish it up we stained the door and frame so they’d match.

I love, love, love my hedge and front gate. Because of them, I now have my very own secret garden.

What’s going on with those neighbors across the street from you? Having a yard sale or just “rednecks” that don’t care about what their place looks like? That must be frustrating to you when you yard and gardens are so pin neat. Hedges are sometimes planted for various reasons. We had a postage stamp patio out back and we planted privet hedges around it when we first moved in, and of course, they grew quickly and we felt “boxed in” when we sat on that patio which was seldom, so down the hedges came and we made flowerbeds, where the hedges had been. Then came another idea..a deck and screened in porch. 2005 found us moving to a Sr. Citizens community but we still miss our screened in porch and being able to look out at our beautiful yard and flowerbeds and our next door neighbor’s beautiful yard. Hers looked like it belonged in BH&G! She and her best friend should start their own business or become Garden coaches.